FFA board member Remo Nogaratto has described the decision by the South Australian government to refuse to be a part of the Australian Women’s World Cup as a “tragedy”.
Nogarotto, who spoke on The State of our Football Nation on Thursday night believes a state such as South Australia should embrace their strong footballing tradition and review their decision to exclude themselves from proceedings.
“I think it’s a tragedy,” Nogarotto said.
“It’s a shame, it’s something that needs to be reversed if possible because Adelaide and South Australia generally is one of the strong holds of football in this country with a rich tradition.
“Whether it’s Adelaide City or the current manifestation, it doesn’t matter, Adelaide needs to be included and the government here needs to understand that.”
This comes after South Australian Premier Steven Marshall confirmed Adelaide will not host any matches should the bid be successful earlier this month.
However, Nogarotto believes the opportunity to pass-up a chance to be part of a major global event is almost too good to pass up as it grows in commercial value along with interest around the globe.
“They have got their stated reasons about the AFL and ‘not-fit for purpose stadiums’,” Nogarotto said.
“While we aren’t saying we are going to ignore the needs or requirements of the AFL – we are talking about a World Cup.
“I encourage the Premier of South Australia to rethink that we have got a global event growing in commercial value, growing in viewers, growing in interest and we have an opportunity to be a part of that and Adelaide to be a part of that.
“In my view, it’s a short-sighted decision and hopefully one that can be reviewed.”
